Fern5827
November 1st 03, 06:21 PM
Sparked by the debacle over Rilya Wilson.
Wonder if there is such a statute in NJ with DYFS?
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http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-cdcf01nov01,0,3835800.s
tory?coll=sfla-news-broward
Fired DCF worker accused of falsifying case records
By Megan O'Matz
Staff Writer
November 1, 2003
Law enforcement officials in the Pensacola area are investigating allegations
that a Department of Children & Families worker falsified records and kept
dozens of case files in a storage shed behind her house.
"At the request of DCF, the State Attorney's Office has asked the Florida
Department of Law Enforcement to look into allegations of case file
mismanagement by a DCF investigator in the Pensacola area," DCF spokesman Bill
Spann said Friday.
FDLE confirmed that it has launched an inquiry into the matter but would not
provide details.
DCF said it fired Allison Harris, a child protective investigator, on Oct. 20,
and is reviewing all of her case files.
Harris said in a telephone interview Friday that because of the tremendous
workload, it is "standard procedure to take the files home." She said she
closed the cases, stored them in a box and later forgot about them. She denied
falsifying any records but said some documents may have been omitted from files
because of the great volume of work.
DCF Secretary Jerry Regier has pushed investigators statewide to close a large
backlog of abuse investigations open longer than 60 days. Harris said she was
told to close about 30 old cases within four days while still investigating new
ones. "It is just a job that is almost impossible to do," she said. "I'm not
the only one who had files missing."
In a letter dated Oct. 14, DCF notified Harris of her pending dismissal for
"poor performance, negligence and conduct unbecoming a public employee."
According to the letter, DCF, over a two-week period, discovered 35 child abuse
investigation files in a shed behind Harris' house. The files date from 2001
through 2003 "and should have been filed in [DCF's] record file room," the
letter states.
Several of the files were missing documentation required for the cases to have
been properly closed, including "criminal history checks, child safety
assessment and preliminary and final abuse reports," the letter states.
DCF claims that Harris falsified records by inserting her supervisor's
signature in at least seven cases and, in two cases, by "placing a copy of the
initial supervisory review from a different case into the case file to make it
appear you did the required work on these cases," the letter states.
In a couple of cases, Harris is accused of altering records to indicate that
she saw the alleged perpetrators and spoke to a child's aunt when she did not.
"The Department of Children and Families does not tolerate behavior that may
jeopardize the safety of those in our care," Spann said.
However, he added: "There were no injuries or deaths [of children] related to
this alleged case file mismanagement."
Under a state law passed last year, DCF workers who falsify records can face up
to five years in prison -- or longer if a child is hurt or dies.
The law was created after a caseworker allegedly altered records to say that
she visited 5-year-old Rilya Wilson over 15 months in her Miami home, at a time
that authorities later learned the girl had disappeared. She's still missing.
Charles Bates, DCF district administrator in Pensacola, declined to comment on
Harris' work. "I cannot talk to you about that," he said. "FDLE is handling
it."
Bates, 62, is expected to retire by year's end. He said his departure is
unrelated to the inquiry and was set in motion in May. "I've not been asked to
resign," he said. "It has nothing to do with the records, whatsoever."
Child abuse investigators, by law, must close cases within 60 days, to
determine whether a child is safe in a home. Most cases must be initiated
within 24 hours, but investigators must act more quickly if they receive
information that a child may be in imminent harm.
Megan O'Matz can be reached at or 954-356-4518.
Copyright © 2003, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Wonder if there is such a statute in NJ with DYFS?
| HOME | NEWS | SPORTS | ENTERTAINMENT | CLASSIFIED | BUSINESS | WEATHER |
SHOPPING |
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-cdcf01nov01,0,3835800.s
tory?coll=sfla-news-broward
Fired DCF worker accused of falsifying case records
By Megan O'Matz
Staff Writer
November 1, 2003
Law enforcement officials in the Pensacola area are investigating allegations
that a Department of Children & Families worker falsified records and kept
dozens of case files in a storage shed behind her house.
"At the request of DCF, the State Attorney's Office has asked the Florida
Department of Law Enforcement to look into allegations of case file
mismanagement by a DCF investigator in the Pensacola area," DCF spokesman Bill
Spann said Friday.
FDLE confirmed that it has launched an inquiry into the matter but would not
provide details.
DCF said it fired Allison Harris, a child protective investigator, on Oct. 20,
and is reviewing all of her case files.
Harris said in a telephone interview Friday that because of the tremendous
workload, it is "standard procedure to take the files home." She said she
closed the cases, stored them in a box and later forgot about them. She denied
falsifying any records but said some documents may have been omitted from files
because of the great volume of work.
DCF Secretary Jerry Regier has pushed investigators statewide to close a large
backlog of abuse investigations open longer than 60 days. Harris said she was
told to close about 30 old cases within four days while still investigating new
ones. "It is just a job that is almost impossible to do," she said. "I'm not
the only one who had files missing."
In a letter dated Oct. 14, DCF notified Harris of her pending dismissal for
"poor performance, negligence and conduct unbecoming a public employee."
According to the letter, DCF, over a two-week period, discovered 35 child abuse
investigation files in a shed behind Harris' house. The files date from 2001
through 2003 "and should have been filed in [DCF's] record file room," the
letter states.
Several of the files were missing documentation required for the cases to have
been properly closed, including "criminal history checks, child safety
assessment and preliminary and final abuse reports," the letter states.
DCF claims that Harris falsified records by inserting her supervisor's
signature in at least seven cases and, in two cases, by "placing a copy of the
initial supervisory review from a different case into the case file to make it
appear you did the required work on these cases," the letter states.
In a couple of cases, Harris is accused of altering records to indicate that
she saw the alleged perpetrators and spoke to a child's aunt when she did not.
"The Department of Children and Families does not tolerate behavior that may
jeopardize the safety of those in our care," Spann said.
However, he added: "There were no injuries or deaths [of children] related to
this alleged case file mismanagement."
Under a state law passed last year, DCF workers who falsify records can face up
to five years in prison -- or longer if a child is hurt or dies.
The law was created after a caseworker allegedly altered records to say that
she visited 5-year-old Rilya Wilson over 15 months in her Miami home, at a time
that authorities later learned the girl had disappeared. She's still missing.
Charles Bates, DCF district administrator in Pensacola, declined to comment on
Harris' work. "I cannot talk to you about that," he said. "FDLE is handling
it."
Bates, 62, is expected to retire by year's end. He said his departure is
unrelated to the inquiry and was set in motion in May. "I've not been asked to
resign," he said. "It has nothing to do with the records, whatsoever."
Child abuse investigators, by law, must close cases within 60 days, to
determine whether a child is safe in a home. Most cases must be initiated
within 24 hours, but investigators must act more quickly if they receive
information that a child may be in imminent harm.
Megan O'Matz can be reached at or 954-356-4518.
Copyright © 2003, South Florida Sun-Sentinel